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Arts Reporter
Kadoma-based sungura artiste Hilary Madziri and his group, Ngarava Express, have joined the fight against Covid-19 through an awareness song titled “Denda Rekorona” from their debut album “Dzokorora”.
The singer said they were distributing the album in Kadoma as part of the awareness campaign and were working with health officials to disseminate information about the deadly virus.
He said they saw the need for active information dissemination through music in the town since there are few musicians based there.
“Denda Rekorona” encourages people to follow safety precautions prescribed by health professionals.
“There are few musicians in Kadoma and we realised that most singers who are spreading information about the virus are from outside our town.
“As residents who know places around us where such campaigns can be successful, we decided to do a song that speaks to our community,” said Madziri.
He said sungura genre is popular in the town and they believe the song will be received well and send an effective message.
“I can say Kadoma is a sungura town because the genre is popular here. A sungura song carrying an important message will likely make a mark in our community. We hope the song will send the message and contribute to the awareness campaign.”
The album “Dzokororo” has songs “Bhora Mutambo”, “Nhaka Yedu”, “Chiedza” and “Wenyasha” among others.
Most songs on the album revolve around social issues, mainly encouraging peaceful living among communities and families.
Madziri said Ngarava Express will start doing shows when lockdown restrictions on live performances are lifted.
“As group members, we met in 2012 and mooted the idea of a band. However, we only got together to build this solid team in 2016 and we have been perfecting our skills over the years. Some of the songs were composed a couple of years ago and we decided to release the album this year.
“The finalisation of the album coincided with the outbreak of coronavirus and we felt it is our duty as musicians to join the fight and spread the information in our town.”
Madziri is the lead guitarist and lead singer in the group.
He says their mission is to put Kadoma on the national sungura map with good music.
Online Reporter